Energy Minister Victor Parlicov has urged light industry enterprises to look for energy efficiency solutions to increase their competitiveness and reduce energy costs, and not to limit themselves to installing photovoltaic panels.

At an information event organized by the Association of Light Industry Employers (APIUS), Victor Parlicov stressed that decarbonizing the economy in the context of European integration is both a solution to high energy prices and a policy commitment to help prevent global warming.

The Energy Minister announced that consultations will be launched with the business community to identify sector-specific solutions that will help reduce energy consumption in production processes and increase the competitiveness of businesses. "Of course, the most practical solution is to install photovoltaic panels on a net metering basis and use the grid free of charge as a battery. However, the electricity grid has limitations and I encourage businesses to look beyond PV panels for sustainable energy," said Victor Parlicov.

PV electricity generation capacity under the net metering mechanism has increased 85 times in the last five years. If in 2018 there were only 57 net metering users with a cumulative capacity of 542.3 kW, by the end of February this year, the number of net metering users exceeded 2600, and the generation capacity - 46.3 MW. The capacity limit for natural and legal persons who can produce energy from renewable sources in the net metering support scheme was increased last year from 5% to 10%.